In The BeginningHello and welcome to our basic web series course where we'll be discussing ways to better your financial situation. Each lesson will be as little as ten minutes, with extra resources for people wanting to dig deeper in the topic. I'd personally love to hear some of your stories and experiences, so write your comments below.

"...welcome to our web series"

November 1st 2012:

The 'don't get dirty' approach. Anyone can apply the tips below, but this will be one of the only sections that I will speak directly to people that are taking their first steps into the world of spending. Our next sections will deal with how to take back control of your finances.

As simple as it may seem, the easiest way to have a healthy financial situation is to properly manage your finances from the moment you enter the world of having money.

Healthy habits to help you out

"...nothing belongs to you until it's paid in full."

Don't spend more than what you earn:

While there may be exceptions, like starting a business with investment capital, this is the most important tip to staying in control of your finances because nothing belongs to you until it's paid in full. Spending more than what you earn is like promising to run 30 miles and paying a recurring fee until it's done, but getting to wear new shoes in the meantime. Apply the same principal across several goods and services and you’ll quickly have promised more than what you can do. That’s when you’re in trouble.

Work towards the best credit score possible:

Having a good credit score will help you nab the lowest interest rates possible when shopping for a car, renting an apartment or buying a house. Your credit score is like your personal batting average in finances. Strike out too many times, and no one wants you on their team. A better average will get you respect, better deals and trust from players in the field. Paying cell phone bills and rent on time are excellent ways to keep your score from going down. Using a credit card properlyis a great way to help your score go up in credit tracking databases.

Advertising: Today's advertising is made from the ground up to grab your attention and sell you something.Financing: This is the practice that allows people to spend more money than what they’ve earned.

Social Pressure: We’ve all wanted something someone else has. If it hasn’t happened to you yet, it will. It’s one of the reasons companies place logos on their products, so others will know exactly where to get them.

We've come to the end of lesson 1 fundamentals. For those wanting to go through extra content, feel free to do so. Hyper links are bolded in green. You can click on those to get some information on the topic that it covers. We shall occasionally direct you to content on different websites. Any external links will have the name of the website it brings you to in parentheses. Read on below for longer comments on what we covered in the course.

Advertising: Today’s advertising is made from the ground up to grab your attention and sell you something. These ads will even tell you that you’ll save money by spending it on their goods or services through limited time offers or instant rebates. Actual factual savings and earnings are those dollars that stay in your pocket.

Financing: Financing is also offering credit. This is the practice that allows people to spend more money than what they’ve earned. What you’re doing is promising to pay for what you want at a later time in exchange for a service fee that is usually charged every month. The fee only goes down if you’re paying off the items purchased. Otherwise it will remain the same forever. The more things you have financed, the greater amount of money is going towards paying that service fee and the less you have to save and spend on something new. There are limits on how much financing you can get before paying off what you owe. The limit is called your credit limit and the fee is called interest.

Social pressure:

We’ve all wanted something someone else has. If it hasn’t happened to you yet, it will. It’s one of the reasons companies place logos on their products, so others will know exactly where to get them. Unless you have the money to spend on those products sitting in your wallet or bank account, and all your bills for the month are paid, fight the urge to use credit to get them. Better yet, if you want money to invest, consider not even purchasing the product unless you absolutely need it.

Needs versus wants:

This is a big issue. In life there are basic needs and there is what you want. Basic needs keep you alive and well. Beyond the clean environment with breathable air, there are only 3 needs: food, shelter. and clothing. For most guys, 3 meals a day of 600 calories will do. Four insulated walls with some heating in the winter and a roof above your head is a basic shelter. Finally, a pair of socks, shoes, boxers, pants, and a shirt is all you need to survive. Everything else is surplus that falls in the needs category. Needs keep us motivated and focused and can be very healthy.